Transformers: The Secret
by Insane Anarchist-aka Allie
Summary: Two sisters, two sides, one battle. UPDATING AGAIN!
1. Ratchet

_**Transformers: The Secret **_

On a dark night in October, two sisters, Taylor and Amelia, went out to a store, on a night that would change their lives…

**_Chapter One _**

"Come on, Taylor! It's getting dark, and we gotta get to the store!" Amelia yanked her little sister along, towards the stairs. 

Taylor huffed angrily. "Slow down! You're going too fast!" But Amelia just pulled her along faster.

The two made it to Walgreen's in record time, hurriedly making their way to the food section. Amelia picked up a pasta packet, but then put it back.

"Do you think we'll see one of those monsters?"

Amelia gave her sister an amused glance. "What monsters?" She turned away, grinning secretly to herself.

"The giant ones on the news!" Taylor put her hands on her hips defiantly.

Amelia spared her sister another glance, and struggled not to laugh. "Oh… those. They aren't real, ya know." Amelia looked back at the food.

"They could be really real! And people've seen 'em!" Taylor gave her sister another angry look, but Amelia ignored her.

"Those people have had to go ta the hospital, they don't count!" The two picked up their food, and moved on. "Come on - we have to get milk."

Amelia tried to end the discussion, but Taylor had other ideas. "They're good and bad, ya know."

The elder sister rolled her eyes, and looked at the use by dates for the milk. She sighed. "All the ones we've heard about are bad; I mean - giant robots, they're gonna be bad… all of them!"

Taylor started pouting. "Well some of 'em could be good…"

Amelia groaned inwardly. _And here she goes; an eight year old ranting to a fourteen year old_. Taylor continued her talk about the monsters as the two neared the desserts. Amelia sighed, and looked at her sister. "They're definitely not real, so stop going on about it!"

Suddenly, a loud crash sounded from behind the store. Taylor clutched at her sister, and whimpered, "W-w-what was that?"

Amelia looked towards the source of the crash, only to see a huge, gray mechanical jaguar smash through the wall, sending food flying everywhere. Amelia and Taylor were catapulted backwards, knocking Amelia unconscious! Taylor was lying on a large section of shelving, only semi-conscious. The gray jaguar advanced on her, growling menacingly. Taylor shifted backwards, teeth chattering noisily.

A moderately large red robot then whacked the jaguar, sending it flying through another wall. "Ha! Take that, Ravage!" He pulled out a large gun and followed.

The eight year old scrambled off the shelf, and shook her sister's arm, crying, "Wake up, wake up, wake up! You have to get up!"

Amelia stirred, and opened her eyes. "Wha…?"

Taylor grabbed her arm, and pulled - hard. She screamed, "Get up! Get up!" Amelia got up, and ran. "Run!"

The two rushed out of the hole in the wall of the store, and sprinted down the alleyway. They made it into a storage room, as Amelia slammed the door behind her. Taylor crouched behind a crate, and her older sister pressed up against the door, breathing hard.

"I - I… I think we lost 'em." Taylor's eyes darted from side to side, and she shuddered nervously. Suddenly, a large section of the wall broke apart, and Ravage burst in. The sisters flung open the door, and ran out - and right into the leg of a tall, black-and-white robot with a strange, red upside-down triangle split down the middle on its forehead. The robot ignored them, concentrating on the oncoming jaguar.

The jaguar wasn't a jaguar, however. In its place was a large, blue robot with a glass panel on its front. The black-and-white one began shooting the advancing blue one, giving Amelia and Taylor the perfect opportunity to escape, which they did. They ran around a corner, and into a battle-ridden street.

Taylor spotted the large robot ahead of them, but Amelia did not. Instead, she rammed right into it, and fell backwards. The robot was mainly white, but with some red, a gray triangle-thingy like the other, only this one also had crosses on its shoulders. It looked down at the girl, and a strange expression slipped onto its face. Taylor had the impression it was smiling.

It gave them what could only be taken as an amused look, and said, "Hello. I'm Ratchet."

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**_Ok, so I'm just giving a stab at a fanfiction, so if you see any mistakes, just let me know!_**

**_Thanks to Crystine for editing!_**


	2. Autobot HQ

**_Edited by Crystine! You rock!

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Chapter Two

Amelia slowly looked up towards the huge robot. She blinked, realizing what it had just said. "Er… your _buddy_ over there, that dog, or whatever, tried to kill us, and you're saying hello? Is it some kind of alien robot thing to greet your prey before eating them?" 

Ratchet gave her a quizzical look, and leaned closer. "Are you suggesting that_ Ravage_ is an Autobot? I assure you, I am not with him."

Taylor peeped out from behind a piece of rubble, and asked, "Autobot? And what about that black-and-white one? And the blue one?"

Ratchet sighed deeply, and stood up to his full height. He looked around, and apparently found them. "Cliffjumper! I can see that damage from over here! Get your lazy aft over here and let me get a good look at you! _Primus_, Cliffjumper! You'd think you liked damage!"

The red robot sheepishly made his way over to Ratchet, and winced as the taller robot yanked a large piece of wood from a hole in his side. "Ouch, Ratch', that hurt! Can't you be gentler?"

Ratchet gave Cliffjumper an almighty shove towards the road, and grunted, "Inside. Me. _Now_." He transformed, and the red Autobot obediently got in.

Ratchet opened his doors, simultaneously broadcasting his voice as loudly as possible. "Prowl! Come on, I need to do a good check on you, too! And humans, you'd better come on, you probably need a good repair as well!" His last sentence was said with less anger, but it still retained a good bite.

Taylor gave her sister a confused look. She whispered, "Well? Do we go or not?"

Amelia glanced over at the van. "I dunno, but I get the feeling that us _not_ going wouldn't go down well with Mr. Grumpy Bot over there." The two carefully climbed into the alien car, reaching for the already-closing doors.

Ratchet and Prowl pulled out, wheels squealing from the sudden acceleration, and completely ignoring Cliffjumper's protestations, which were somewhere along the lines of, "I can drive!" The acceleration caused Cliffjumper's head to smack into the back door. "Owwwwwwwwww! You did that on purpose! Come on, Ratch'!" He whined, but with some humor. Ratchet made a funny noise, and Amelia thought, with some interest, that he was amused.

The drive went on. Ratchet was silent, but Amelia hated silence, so she spoke up. "What are you, the medic robot or something?"

The Autobot made a noise halfway between a grunt and a huff, and said, "I am the medical officer."

His tone had a certain finality to it, but Amelia chose to ignore it. "Well, doesn't that make you a lower rank? I mean, you seem to be giving orders around here." The medical bot stayed silent.

The police car, _Prowl_, thought Taylor, was keeping perfect pace with his companion.

He was quiet, but something was bothering him, and he couldn't keep silent. "Ratchet, you know Soundwave will send that slagger, Laserbeak, after us?"

Ratchet made a sighing sound, and said, "I know. We'll need to radio Prime and let him know the results. This was _supposed _to be a recon mission."

Amelia's curiosity was piqued. "Prime? Laserbeak? Soundwave? What are you _talking_ about?!"

This time Cliffjumper sighed. "Why do you need to know? It's none of your business."

Amelia made a strangled sound in her throat, and started to protest. Ratchet stopped, cutting off her protestations. "We're here."

Taylor and Amelia slid out, and walked around to see Prowl transform, and help Cliffjumper out. The red robot was trying to stand up by himself, but he fell over. The two other Autobots laughed, although it wasn't really a 'ha-ha,' it was more of a robotic version - not in the sense of sounding robotic, but more of a funny, rumbling sound accompanied by a strange facial expression.

"Come on, it's not funny." Cliffjumper struggled into a sitting position. Prowl grabbed his right arm, Ratchet grabbed his left, and together they hoisted him up. Cliffjumper sighed pathetically.

Ratchet looked up ahead, towards a mountain. "Well, we'd better get back to base."

Amelia looked up at him. "Base?"

He gave her a smile, and pointed with his free hand to a strange, orange shape in the mountain. "Autobot Headquarters."  
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**_Yay! The next chapter will be up shortly, and I promise, after these very slow, very short chapters, things will get a lot better!_**


	3. Introduction and Conflict

**_Chapter Three_**

The odd group made their way towards the strange shape, fear growing in the humans. Ratchet, Prowl and Cliffjumper, however, didn't seem worried in the slightest.

A male voice came from the depths of a now-visible opening below the orange shape.

"Ratch'? Is that you?"

Ratchet called out, "Yes, it's Ratchet, Wheeljack. I brought you a project."

Amelia and Taylor exchanged surprised glances, and Taylor's bottom lip slid up over her top lip. "P-pproject? Are _we_ the project?"

Ratchet looked down at her, and he tried to smile reassuringly. "Don't worry, 'Jack's an inventor; he's going to find a way for you two to stay here. You need fuel."

Amelia put a hand on her sister's mouth, staying Taylor's protestations. "Yes, we will." The group was met by a large, white robot with very strange ear-like things. Amelia resolved to ask what they were, but later.

"Now, I need to take Cliffjumper here to the med bay, so Wheeljack, can you take the humans?" Ratchet said.

Wheeljack knelt down, and smiled at the two sisters, as Ratchet and Prowl left with Cliffjumper.

Amelia put her hands on her hips indignantly. She cleared her throat. "We _humans_ have names, you know!"

Wheeljack's 'ears' lit up. "Well, of course you do! Ratch's the medic, he's gruff, but ya learn to like him! What are your names?"

"I'm Amelia, or Amy, and she's Taylor, my little sister."

Wheeljack nodded thoughtfully. He murmured, "Amy and Taylor, Amy and Taylor, hmmmm… logged. You are females, correct?" He stood back up to his full height.

"Yes, totally!" Taylor giggled, hands over her mouth. Amelia elbowed her sister sharply, eliciting a yelp.

The Autobot cocked his head to one side. "Are you functional?"

Amelia glared at her sister, and said, "She's fine. Erm…do you know where I can go to the bathroom?"

Wheeljack went down on one knee, bringing his face close. "Bathroom?"

Amelia nodded. "Yeah, bathroom.…Gotta put it in robot terms… expel wastes from my… self."

Wheeljack sighed. He stood up as a large, black-and-white Autobot with a blue visor that covered its eyes and nose entered the room.

"Hey, Ratch' told me I'd find ya here!"

Wheeljack gave him a look and said, "Me or the femmes?" He laughed, that strange laugh, but the other one laughed a more human laugh, a 'ha-ha' laugh.

The visored mech saw the terrified look on poor Taylor's face, and knelt down. "Hey, now, I'm not gonna hurtcha." Taylor looked up at him with tearful eyes. She nodded, wiping her eyes. He touched her gently on the arm, and smiled. "I'm Jazz. Who're you?"

The little girl smiled, and said, "I'm Taylor."

Jazz flashed her a smile, and Taylor couldn't help but smile bigger. "Ya want me to show ya 'round the base?" He held out his hand, and Taylor sat down on it.

"Sure!"

Jazz took off in the opposite direction as Ratchet and Prowl, and was gone. Wheeljack looked down at Amy. He too held out his hand. "Wanna go to the rec room? You can meet some more of us."

Amelia gaped at him, and asked, "There're _more_ of you?!"

The inventor laughed. "Well, sure! We couldn't fight Decepticons with small numbers, now could we?"

She gave him a very confused look, and queried, "Decepticons? I've heard of Autobots, but what are Decepticons?"

Wheeljack's face became very grave. "Decepticons are our enemies," he said with finality. Amelia made an 'o' shape with her mouth, and stepped onto Wheeljack's hand. She sat down, and clutched at his finger so as not to fall.

Upon reaching the rec room, a small Autobot bumped into the inventor's leg, fell backwards into a table, and knocked a larger robot's strange glowing liquid out of its square glass.

The small robot, a yellow one, sat up and rubbed its head. Wheeljack held out a hand to help it up.

"Alright there, Bumblebee?" Bumblebee took his hand, and stood up.

The other robot was giving him a nasty scowl. Wheeljack placed a hand on his shoulder. "Easy there, Inferno, you can just get some more Energon, no need to be angry!" The red Autobot nodded angrily, and stomped over to the bar.

Wheeljack smiled at the yellow robot, and introduced Amelia to him. "Amy, this is Bumblebee, one of the minibots around here."

"Minibots?"

Bumblebee smiled, and said, "Yup, minibots, that's the name for a small mech."

Once again, Amelia was confused. "Mech?"

This time Wheeljack answered. "A mech is basically what you would consider a robot."

Amelia nodded, and was about to speak when a mech from across the room called over. "Hey, Wheeljack! Who's the human?"

Wheeljack and Bumblebee, now holding Amelia, made their way across the room, and over to a large, green mech. Bumblebee greeted him, "Hiya, Hound! This is…"

Amelia smiled, and held out her hand. "Amelia, or Amy. Nice to meet you, Hound!"

Hound stared at her hand, confused, and Amelia quickly jerked it back, mumbling, "I guess ro-mechs don't shake hands…"

Another mech showed up, prompting Wheeljack to call them over. "Blue! Come on over here, I've got somebody for you to meet!"

The mech smiled, and walked over. "Hi. I'm Bluestreak."

Amelia smiled again, and said, "Amy."

Bluestreak nodded, smiling, then turned to Wheeljack. "You know, I think you must've left your lab in disarray, cause Ratchet's going on about it, I mean, he thinks you've made another invention, of course, you might not've, but…"

Another mech walked up, and put a hand on Bluestreak's shoulder, cutting him off. "Hey now, Blue, you're going to short out your vocal synthesizer!" Then he laughed, and called, "Sunny! Come on over here, I spy a little…"

Jazz walked up behind the red-and-silver Autobot, and gave him a good _thump_ on his shoulder. "Yep, Sideswipe, we have a human here. Amy? This is Sideswipe, and his twin menace over there is Sunstreaker."

Amelia looked at Jazz, ignoring the brothers, and asked, "Where's my sister?"

Jazz laughed, a 'ha-ha' laugh, and smiled at her. "She got tired, and I put 'er with Ratch', he's got a place for you ta sleep, now!"

The fourteen year-old nodded, and sighed. "Well, I suppose that's ok. How's Cliffjumper?"

Jazz suddenly looked very downcast. "Not too good, dunno how long it'll be before the doc's finished with 'im." Many looks of worry and sadness were exchanged around the room.

Another mech came over to Jazz, and asked, "What mood's Ratchet in? I've got a funny stick in my rotator, and I've been meaning to ask him about it."

Jazz patted him on the arm, and said, "Huffer, he's tired of your 'injuries.'" Amelia stifled a laugh under her hand. Huffer, a purple-and-orange mech, gave the others a sour look.

Sunstreaker laughed. "Huffer, I think you got a stick in your head!" He and Sideswipe cracked up, much to the displeasure of Huffer, who made a 'pft' noise, and left.

Bluestreak jumped as a loud crash came from the bar. They all looked around, and saw Inferno standing there, a piece of an Energon glass in his hand. The rest, the Energon and glass, were lying in a puddle at his feet. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker laughed even harder.

"Oh, we got ya good, for getting at Bumblebee like that!" Sideswipe patted Bumblebee's back.

The yellow minibot gave him a sheepish grin. "You… didn't need to do that, Sideswipe. I know Inferno's not gonna really hurt me, it's ok, really."

Sideswipe gave him a confused look, and whacked Sunstreaker to get him to stop laughing. He said, "Bumblebee, did you _see_ Gears after Inferno got mad at him? He was in the med bay for almost an orn!"

Many looks were exchanged, and Amelia said, "Orn? What's an _orn_?"

Jazz said, "It's about… two human weeks, judging by the international database."

"Oh… you mean the internet?"

Jazz turned to her, flashing a grin and nodding excitedly. Amelia laughed, unable to control herself.

Inferno had, unnoticed, walked behind Sideswipe. He hit him as hard as possible, and sending the red-and-silver mech flying into the opposite wall. Sunstreaker's eyes flashed, turning to a bright, blue-white color. Sideswipe extricated himself from the wall, and stood up just in time to see Sunstreaker land a hard punch to Inferno. The red mech, in turn, knocked into the golden yellow mech, and they both slammed into another wall. Wheeljack held onto Amelia tighter, protecting the girl's slim frame.

The fight escalated to a point where Jazz made everyone leave the room, including a protesting Sideswipe. "I can help, let me talk to Sunny! Just give me a chance!"

Jazz simply ignored him, com-ing Prowl to come. He spoke to what appeared to be thin air. "Prowl, I need you and Optimus at the rec room, pronto, we got a situation!"

A different voice came on. "Jazz? This's Ahrnhide. What's goin' on?" The black-and-white mech's mouth twisted.

_Obviously, Jazz wanted Prowl, not this…Ahyrnhide character. I wonder if he's still with Ratchet?_Amelia turned to Wheeljack. "Can you… um… take me to Ratchet? I have a couple of questions for him…"

The white-and-green mech just smiled, and said, "Sure, Amy! It's probably better you get out of here, anyway." He walked off, and soon enough, possibly ten minutes or so later, they reached the med bay.

Upon hearing the doors open, Ratchet whirled around, an angry scowl on his face, but it softened as he saw who it was. "Amy! I was wondering when you'd decide to come back here and find your sister. Although, Wheeljack, I believe I just performed repairs on you, so you'd better not have any more for me. As you can see, I have my hands full with Cliffjumper!" He turned to the red mech, and continued his work, gesturing to a table well within his sight. "Just put Amy there, Wheeljack. And get out of here!" He tossed a piece of metal at the inventor, causing him to flee from the site.

Amelia giggled softly, but concern for Cliffjumper soon overwhelmed her laughs. She queried, "Hey, Ratchet? Can I see what you're doing? I'm pretty interested."

Ratchet nodded, picked the girl up, and placed her gently on the table. "Anything particular you're interested in?"

Amelia shook her head. "No, not anything specific, I was just wondering a little about mechs and minibots… well, I'm not sure what the word is, but I'm interested in Autobots in general, how you're different from humans. For example, what is Energon?"

The medic gave her an amused look. "You've certainly asked a difficult question!"

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**_Hurrah, another chapter! Once again, sorry for the length, it's far too short, but I'm trying!!!_**


	4. Sideswipe

_**Chapter Four**_

Optimus Prime sat in his chair by Teletraan I, carefully composing a message to his ally, Megatron.

_Megatron,_

_Remember, I am supposed to have updates every cycle, and as early as possible. How is the prisoner? I am hoping he will conform soon; we need all the help we can get against Marauder._

_Optimus Prime_

He read and reread the message, and finally sent it. _Megatron's new; I have to be more lenient on him. And that Starscream, I just do not know what to do with him. He came from Marauder with a wish to become an Autobot, but he now refuses to conform. We've even had to lock him up, as he was causing so much trouble. Perhaps I should talk to him myself…_

"Hey, Ahptimus, I got a comm from Jazz sayin' Sunstreaker and Inferno were havin' a go at each other, ya might wanna check it out." Optimus turned to see Ironhide walk in.

"Yes, Ironhide. I believe you're right. Let's go." The two hurried down to the rec room, to find it torn up with all the fighting. Jazz was struggling to hold Sideswipe back, saying, "Sideswipe, ya can't go in there, it's too dangerous, come on now!" Optimus placed a hand on the white-and-black mech's shoulder.

"Jazz, let him go, and guard the door. Sideswipe, follow Ironhide and myself in." The three made their way in, Jazz staying at the door, peering in. Wheeljack rushed in, holding Amelia close. Optimus grabbed Sunstreaker's shoulder as he reeled from a blow, putting him behind himself, back towards Sideswipe.

"Sunny, knock it off! It was funny before but now…get outta battle mode!" Sunstreaker's optics faded back to their normal glowing blue. Sideswipe let out a long-winded sigh.

"That's it. Whew, Sunny, you had me worried there!" Sunstreaker shot his brother an angry look, and almost hissed, "He should be glad I wasn't in a bad mood." Sideswipe sighed dramatically, and went over to the bar. He grabbed some Energon, and sat down at a still-intact table.

Optimus Prime called over Sunstreaker and Inferno, "Sunstreaker, I want you to report to Grapple here next shift. Inferno, you will report here the shift after. Understood?" They both mumbled, "Yes, sir," Inferno taking his leave, Sunstreaker walking over to his brother, no thirst for Energon right now. Sideswipe carefully eyed his brother.

"Ya know, Sunny, I think ya might wanna report to Ratchet about some of those injuries, I don't think you're fully functional…" Sunstreaker gave himself a look-over, and sighed.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right, Sides. Better go see Ratchet." And with that, he got up, and headed to the door. Amelia was down on the floor, talking with a few mechs, Jazz, Wheeljack, and the recently arrived Bumblebee and Bluestreak. Sideswipe got up as well, and followed his brother.

"Hey! Sunny, look out!" Sunstreaker's large metal foot was nearly down on Amelia's head. She cowered beneath, screaming her head off. Sideswipe acted quickly, knocking his brother away, and scooping up Amelia in one move. She clutched him, looking fearfully at Sunstreaker. Sideswipe yelled, "You need to pay closer attention!" He promptly turned, and left. Amelia sighed, relieved.

"Thanks, Sideswipe. I owe you my life…" He made a funny noise, reverberating through him.

"No problem, Amy, Sunny's been acting up recently, but nobody'll put him in his place. I just felt it was time for some sense to be knocked into him." Amy laughed, and said, "Literally!" The two cracked up, and Amelia realized Sideswipe also laughed a 'ha-ha' laugh. He wasn't looking where he was going, and bumped into another mech.

"Woah! Sorry, Skyfire, didn't see ya there!" The large red-white-and-blue Autobot just smiled.

"It is…alright. You did not hurt me. …Were you hurt?" Sideswipe shook his head then looked down at a thoroughly shaken Amelia, "Alright there, Amy?" She smiled and-after some hesitation-nodded. She acknowledged, "Yeah, I'm cool. And you're Skyfire? Neat name!" The large Autobot paused, a little confused, then smiled.

"I believe you just complemented me…thank you. I have never met a human before." He seemed perfectly comfortable around Amelia, and-as a result-she was too. Skyfire moved out of the way waving them on.

"Go on, I'm just going to the rec room for some Energon." Sideswipe gave Amy an amused look, and said laughing, "I hope you have an easier time than we did!" And saying so, he walked on down the hall. Amelia giggled.

"Sideswipe, you kill me!" The red-and-silver mech gave her a frightened look. He whispered, "Kill you? Why on all _Cybertron_ would I kill you?" the girl reached up, and touched his cheek very gently.

"It's just an expression…I'd never think you'd want to hurt me…" He looked down at the fourteen year old, and smiled weakly, saying, "Sorry…guess I don't know enough about humans yet!" They both laughed, releasing almost all of the tension.

Some still remained, though.

Sideswipe was thinking about how Amelia had reacted to his pain, and how he had reacted. _She was so gentle, not at all like how I pictured human femmes…oh, what am I thinking?!_ Amelia noticed a funny expression on her companion's face, and became worried.

"Sideswipe, what's wrong? What happened?" Her voice was shrill. The Autobot lifted her up closer to his face, and smiled as comfortingly as possible.

"No, I'm fine. Have you met Optimus yet?" Amelia shook her head, and asked, "Who's Optimus?" Sideswipe grinned.

"You'll find out!"

**_Another chapter up! And some interaction between Sideswipe and Amelia, too! Still pretty short, but I haven't yet made known the central conflict, so after that chapters will get longer!!!_**


	5. Taylor and Jazz

_**Chapter Five**_

Taylor blinked, opening her tired eyes. The surroundings weren't what she was used to, and fear took hold.

She screamed.

The scream jolted Ratchet out of his repairs of Cliffjumper. He turned around, and said, "What in _Primus's_ name is going on here?!" His face softened, "Taylor, it's alright! Stop screaming!" The eight year old stopped, and looked wide-eyed up at the medicalbot.

"R-R-Ratchet?" He smiled gently, lifting her up in his hand, whispering, "Yes…you must've forgotten where you were." She sighed, "I know where I am now: Autobot Headquarters. I won't forget again." Ratchet nodded.

"your sister is-most likely- in the rec room. Would you like to go see her?" Taylor nodded again, pleased. Ratchet smiled again., "Then I'll take you."

"What about Cliffjumper?" Taylor glared at the medicalbot. He gave her a strange look, and said, "He'll be fine for a little bit. Come on." He held out his hand, and Taylor hopped up on it, grasping his finger for support. The two reached the rec room far quicker than the eight year old would have considered possible, the metal floor blurry from Ratchet's speed.

Suddenly, Taylor felt very dizzy, and clung tigher to the mech's finger. Anoher mech came down the hall, not running, but certainly going very fast, and smacked right into the medical officer.

This was the last straw for the girl. She toppled over to the side, and slipped right off Ratchet's hand. The other mech reached out, and caught her, bringing Taylor up to his chest.

"Maybe ya better keep a tighter grip onyour charge, eh Ratch'?" Taylor looked up at the visored face, and cried, "Jazz! Oh, thank you so much for saving me!" The black-and-white mech smiled warmly at her.

"No problem, Miss Taylor. Now, where were ya two headed?" Ratchet was busy giving the eight year old a look-over, and not really paying attention, "Hmmm? Oh, we were heading to the rec room, I was taking her to her sister." Jazz lifted Taylor up to his shoulder, keeping one large hand on her for stability.

"Why don' I take her? You can get back to Cliffjumper." The medicalbot nodded, and walked off without even a backwards glance.

"Now, I happen to know Sideswipe took your sister to Optimus Prime, so we'd better head thataway." He pointed at a separate hallway, and headed off down it. Tayor sat quietly, looking at all the doors on either side of the hall.

"…Hey Jazz?" She asked timidly, unsure if it was right to ask. He nodded, "Yep?" She sighed. _I suppose it can't hurt…or can it? Perhaps he's temperamental, although I've never gotten that from him…_

"Ummmmm…I was wondering…where you come from?" Jazz sighed very deeply.

"This might take a while…" 

_**Ok, so my chapters are STILL short! I'm hoping it'll get easier to make them longer, but for now, the total interaction is at a minimum, sadly.**_

_**And no, for those who are wondering, this is NOT a Sideswipe+Amelia fanfic, it was just more of Amelia's natural personality coming out:) **_


	6. Decepticons

_**Chapter Six**_

Amelia clutched at Sideswipe's shoulder, her hands and fingers aching and throbbing from gripping the metal. She breathed heavily, tired. "H-h-hey Sideswipe? Can you stop for a sec?"

The red mech scooped her off his shoulder, bringing her down to chest level. Amelia knelt in his hand, panting. "Woah! What happened to you? Are you functional?"

Amelia would have hit him, but she didn't have the energy to do so. She glared nastily at him. "Take me to the med bay. I need to pee, and rest. _NOW_!"

Suddenly, the doors beside the two hissed open, and out came an immense, red-and-blue mech. Amelia's mouth opened wide, and she let out a high-pitched squeak. The Autobot looked down, expression nearly unreadable with the faceplate covering its mouth and nose. Its eyes, however, had much to say. It bent down, to Amelia's current height.

"Who are you?" His voice was deep, rumbling, yet strangely comforting.

"I-I-I'm Amel-Amy. I'm Amy. Or you can call me Amelia, that's my formal name…" He nodded, and his eyes seemed to spark. Amelia was mesmerized by the sudden light emitting from his eyes, even after it had dimmed. She whispered, "Your eyes, they just…" She was at a loss to describe what had transpired. His eyes took on a strange gleam, and Amy had the impression that he was smiling at her.

"Eyes? Amy, they're not _eyes_, they're _optics_! Humans have eyes, Cybertronians have optics."

Sideswipe seemed determined to put her in her place, but he only served to anger Amelia further, as he made her yell, "Sideswipe, I haven't even been here a day, and you expect me to know all the terminology?! I think not!" She stood up on his palm, hands on her hips in sheer fury.

"_Sideswipe, you can go. It's probably best if you go stay with Sunstreaker for a while, let me get Amelia used to being around mechs, before you snap at her_."

Amelia gaped at the larger mech, crying, "What was that?! You were speaking a different language!" She gasped as Sideswipe deposited her in the other mech's hands, then watched as Sideswipe turned and left, giving her a nod on the way.

"I am Optimus Prime, Amelia, the Autobot leader. And yes, we were speaking Cybertronian. Forgive me, it was rude, but Sideswipe responds better to our native language."

The fourteen year old nodded and smiled, and said, "Nice to meet you, Optimus Prime. Can you tell me what's going on around here, and where I can go to the bathroom? It's… pretty urgent, and I doubt you want me to go on your hand, and I really don't want to be running around in dirty jeans; I don't have clean clothes with me."

The Autobot leader cocked his head to the side. "I'm sure Ratchet and Wheeljack have worked something out for you, but will you allow me to show you one thing first?"

She nodded, and Optimus Prime took her into the room from which he had just exited. The first thing Amelia noticed was the large recognizable form of Prowl, sitting at a console. Then she took in the huge computer to his left.

"This is Teletraan I." He gestured towards the immense computer.

Amelia's eyes widened very sharply, and she gasped, "That huge piece of machinery is a computer?!"

Optimus laughed, and it was one of those 'ha-ha' laughs, which surprised Amelia. Somehow, she'd been expecting the funny laugh that some of the other mechs had. "Yes, Teletraan happens to be our… master computer. It can see anything here on Earth, and beyond. On Earth, it uses the Skyspy."

At his word, a strange satellite-type-object came out of a section on Teletraan. It flew up and away, chanting, "Explore, explore, explore," over and over again. Amelia looked at Optimus Prime, who stared back at her with glowing optics.

Suddenly, Prowl jumped up. "Slaggit! Oh slaggit!"

Optimus strode over to the mech, and asked, "What is it, Prowl?"

Prowl turned slowly to face the Autobot leader. "Decepticons - and lots of them."

* * *

**_Yay! Finally, we're going to get some Decepticon action! Yay! And, I'd also like to thanks Crystine for editing this, it would not be nearly as good without her help!_**

**_Crystine, you are awesome!!!:)_**


	7. Realization

_**Chapter Seven**_

Amelia absorbed what Optimus had said, and realized the implications. _Oh no! Decepticons - those are the enemies! Oh God, what am I going to do?!_ She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths, and slowly calmed down.

Optimus was saying something in Cybertronian, and giving the girl a headache. _"Wheeljack, I need you to come to the bridge. Yes, now, we have an imminent Decepticon attack, and I do not want Amelia anywhere near it, or her sister."_

Wheeljack sighed on the other end, sending static through the line._ "Optimus, I think she might be with Jazz; I'll have to com him to find out…"_

Optimus almost shouted. "_Please, Wheeljack, come to the bridge_." He cut off the link and placed Amelia gently on Teletraan I. Typing furiously on the keys before him and muttering in Cybertronian, the fourteen year old craned her neck to see the enormous screen.

The double doors slid open, and Prowl couldn't resist a comment. "About time you got here."

Amelia turned to see Wheeljack rush over to the two of them. He picked her up. "Optimus, I'll just be going…"

The Autobot leader nodded. "Yes, go on, Wheeljack."

The inventor spun around, and walked out of the room as fast as he possibly could, making it to the med bay in record time. He didn't seem tired in the slightest.

Setting her down on a makeshift bed, Wheeljack bent down to her level, his optics full of concern. "Are you functional? I'm not sure how long I'll be able to stay, but I need to know how you are." His strange vocal signifiers, as Amelia had decided to call them, lit up excitedly as he spoke.

"I'm fine, Wheeljack, but aren't you supposed to be com-ing Jazz, or something?"

Wheeljack nodded, a little shocked that he'd forgotten. "Wheeljack to Jazz, do you copy?"

Jazz's voice came on the line, full of mirth as always. "Roger, 'Jack. What can I do for ya?"

The inventor's optics glowed once, apparently in frustration. "Jazz, we have an imminent Decepticon attack; you need to get Taylor back to the med bay, as soon as possible."

The black-and-white mech's voice wasn't quite as happy anymore. "Got it... coming now!" There was a soft click as he ended the transmission.

It was only about three minutes later, when Jazz had Taylor back, and she was fast asleep. "Little girl just went into stasis as I was talkin' 'bout Cybertron, musta bored her to it!" He smiled, and placed Taylor gently on the mass of blankets. "Now, I'm needed to fight some 'Cons, but you've got an option, 'Jack. Stay here, or go fight."

Wheeljack looked down at the two humans, and smiled. "I think I'll stay here. Besides, these two might need protection." Jazz nodded, seemingly pleased by his decision, and left.

"Erm…Wheeljack? I really need to use the restroom…"

The inventor laughed his strange laugh, and gave Amelia an amused look. "Ratchet and I worked something out…" He lifted her up to his shoulder, keeping a firm grip on her. Wheeljack strode into Ratchet's office, and showed her a strange robotic version of a toilet. "See?"

Amelia nodded, but she didn't really have time to think about much. "Wheeljack? Could you please leave the room… and don't look?" He cocked his head to one side, but did as she asked.

It was at least two minutes, maybe more, before Amelia called for him. When he picked her up, she was blushing deeply, confusing the inventor.

"Are you functioning properly?"

She would have laughed, but the situation did not seem to call for it. Instead, she opted for a straightforward answer. "Yes, I'm just… embarrassed. That's all, and it's really just a natural thing humans do." Wheeljack did not seem convinced, but seemed to accept her answer all the same, gently setting her down on the bed.

Once out of his hands, Amelia felt her blush fading. _Why would it fade after Wheeljack put me down? It really should stay longer than that, although I really don't want it to… _She sighed and lay back, snuggling down, creating a little nest of blankets around her, and finally pulling a loose one out to cover up with.

Amelia's thoughts drifted again to Wheeljack as she began to nod off. _I'm not sure…I feel…it's almost as if a voice inside my head…it's saying something, but I can't make it out…it always seems louder when I'm around Wheeljack, but I still can't make out what it says…I don't know why, but I want to know what this voice is saying more than anything else I've ever wanted. _Falling asleep, she thought about trying to hear that voice. Just as she was losing consciousness, it spoke one word.

_"I…" _And then silence

* * *

**_Ok, so a little hint-hint there at the end! Next chapter will be up soon, I hope!_**

**_Thanks again to Crystine for editing!_**


	8. Marauder

_**Chapter Eight**_

Marauder clenched her fists as she watched the playback. Over and over again, she watched Starscream's treachery, watched his ship as it blasted off, leaving her and the other Decepticons behind. She punched a button on the console to her right.

_"Galaxy? It's Marauder. I need you in the control room."_ Without waiting for her second-in-command's reply, she shut the link off, and stalked over to another console. The doors behind her opened with a soft hiss, and Galaxy stepped in. Marauder turned, and eyed the dark blue femme. Galaxy's stars shone ominously, and her silver optics glowed with a brightness not seen by anyone outside Marauder's inner circle before.

_"What can I do for you, Marauder?"_ Galaxy's voice was multifaceted, and almost mystical. The stars covering her length slid effortlessly into strange symbols.

The black-and-silver Decepticon leader was impatient, and Galaxy's strange, drawn-out way of speaking did not help. _"Galaxy, I need you and Electra to retrieve Starscream from the Autobots: he must receive punishment for his offenses."_ Galaxy inclined her head, and left soundlessly, leaving Marauder with her thoughts.

There wasn't much thinking time, as an alarm sounded. "What's going on? Varia, report!" Marauder hit the com button, screaming into it. The alarm never went off, unless there was a serious emergency.

Varia's voice was crystal clear when it came through. "The Autobot prisoner escaped! We had Rumble and Frenzy guarding the cell, but that Autobot turned invisible! They opened the door, and he simply walked out!"

Marauder felt like screaming. "Very well, we shall simply have to lock down."

Varia sounded smug when she came back on. "I already have, Marauder."

The femme sighed. "Very well, I want a cross-section search of the entire base, and I want Rumble and Frenzy off cell duty, and on cleaning duty."

"Understood. Varia out."

The transmission ended, and Marauder tilted her head back. _Those two cause too much trouble around here… perhaps I can reassign them to… no, it simply wouldn't work. They'll cause trouble anywhere. I'll just keep them on cleaning duty for now, until some sense is knocked into them._

The alarm had shut off unnoticed, which was a relief to Marauder. The Decepticon femme was angry, and needed someone to take it out on. _Starscream._ The seeker had always been there for her, always ready for her venting, willing to be there when she needed him. "Starscream… why did you leave? Why?" she whispered softly.

A sharp _click_ startled the Decepticon leader. She whirled towards the sound, optics frantically scanning the room - but it appeared that no one but herself was present. _I don't believe it - someone was in here. And I'd be willing to bet thirty units of Energon it's that Autobot._ She carefully walked over to a nondescript console, and slowly, very slowly, pressed a button.

Magnetic pulse lasers shot from the ceiling, missing Marauder, but hitting the now-visible white-and-blue Autobot. He groaned, and fell to the floor, prompting the black-and-silver femme to go over to him. "Mirage, how kind of you to stop by. Of course, your visit will be short-lived, I assure you. Bombshell! Get over here!" Bombshell jumped - or more accurately flew - down from the ceiling. "Those lasers almost hit me!"

He saw the testy look on Marauder's face. "Er - sorry… I have it right here." Saying so, he produced a strange black chip. For Mirage, this chip was a source of fear, even greater than the Decepticon leader. The Insecticon came forward, and put the chip on Mirage's helm, covering it in paint to match.

Marauder snickered. "Now - stand up, slave!" she commanded. Mirage obediently stood up. "Very good, Bombshell. You and the Insecticons will be rewarded later for this. But now: leave." Bombshell hurriedly left, wanting to let the others know of his victory.

Marauder turned to the Autobot. "Here are your orders - take ship 56 to Autobot Headquarters. In the hangar, Galaxy and Electra are waiting. If you are asked about where you have been… tell them you were captured, but escaped. Once you are alone, you must then go to the brig. There you will find Starscream - give him this disc," she said, handing Mirage a disc, "and, only once he has listened to it, get him out, and return here. You are to power down on the ship, and stay there until you are called. Do you understand?" The blue-and-white mech nodded, optics flashing once.

Marauder breathed a sigh of relief. "Now - go!" He left, and the Decepticon femme was left once again to her thoughts.

It was about eight mega-cycles before Electra and Galaxy returned. Marauder stood off to one side, watching the shuttle land. _Oh Primus, I hope he's alright..._ The ramp came down with a dull _thunk,_ dust swirling around the base.

First, Galaxy and Electra came out, Galaxy's stars rippling and changing in anger, and Electra sparking with fury, and then - out came a large, white-and-red mech, metal gleaming in the light. He looked around, optics settling on the black-and-silver femme. A smile planted itself on his lips.

He spoke for what seemed like ages, to Galaxy and Electra, until finally Marauder dismissed them. She walked forward a few steps, and then stopped. "Starscream... I..."

And suddenly, he was there, holding her in his arms tightly. "I'm sorry; I was going to go undercover..."

She held onto him, ignoring his explanation. "You don't need to be sorry..." Now that he was here; all of Marauder's anger had melted into pure affection. She clung to Starscream, never wanting him to leave again. He lifted her head up, and came closer.

His lips pressed passionately against hers. She kissed him back, and in that moment, they were one.

After a seemingly immeasurable time, they broke apart, but the feeling still lingered. The seeker touched Marauder's cheek gently. "I love you..."

She almost choked on her words - he'd never said that before. "I - I love you, too..." They kissed again, pure love radiating from each.

Finally, Marauder knew they had to go into the base. "Starscream - we…"

He interrupted her, touching two fingers to her lips. "I know." He drew back, only a little, and took the femme's hand. The two walked slowly into the base, neither wanting to do so.

They reached the doors to Marauder's quarters, and Starscream turned to her. "Tonight was wonderful." He pulled her in his arms, and kissed her again. This time, it did not last as long. The Decepticon femme pulled gently away.

"I love you - so much - but we have to be careful. Even though I am the leader of the Decepticons, I doubt our love would go down very well. I - I… I would be afraid of a rebellion." She sighed, terrified of what he would think - but he just smiled.

"As would I. Go - recharge, and I will see you later." He pressed the button to open the door, and Marauder went in, hearing the gentle hiss of the doors shutting. It was all she could do to not go back out. Lying down, she listened to the quietly receding footsteps, wanting more than anything to run back out. _Control your feelings! You need to focus on the main goal: destroying the Autobots._ Her mind raced, concocting plan after plan against the Autobots.

* * *

Amelia gasped, bolting upright. Cold sweat coated her body, and the sheet was plastered to her. Wheeljack looked up sharply from Cliffjumper, and Ratchet turned his head.

"Amy? What's wrong?" Wheeljack came over, concern filling his voice and optics.

Amelia shuddered, thinking of what had just transpired. "I - I had a bad dream… it's nothing, really." Her voice shook dangerously, eyes welling up with tears.

Ratchet knew better than to believe her false protestations. "No, it definitely is something."

Wheeljack touched her gently on the arm. "You can tell us, if you want."

The girl sighed, now shivering with cold. "It - it was this huge, gleaming black-and-silver ro-mech, with horrible glowing red optics. She was… attacking the base, and… and I was alone. I heard a scream, but I knew it wasn't Taylor's… so I went to investigate. The mech was… I dunno what she was doing… it looked like she was ripping some glowing orb-thing out of…Optimus Prime's chest and…Optimus turned all grey. The huge mech came towards me, grabbed me and…" She halted; the next part had woken her up. "And… I don't know… she killed me, but I dunno how, or why… just 'cause I was there, I guess."

Wheeljack patted Amelia's arm, and scooped her up in his arms. "It seems to me you were thinking of Marauder, although I'd be slagged if I knew how. You don't know who Marauder is, do you, Amy?" Amelia shook her head, unsure if words would even come out.

Ratchet sighed. "It might not have been Marauder; it could have been someone else."

Wheeljack gave the medical officer a bored look. "Sure, Ratch', not Marauder. How many other black-and-silver Decepticon femmes do we know?" He strode over to the terminal, and pressed a few keys. A list, covered in strange characters, appeared. "This," Wheeljack hit another key, "is Marauder."

A life-size hologram shot out of a small port, causing Amelia to jump. "T-that's her. Definitely her." The inventor looked down at her, tightening his hold comfortingly. She smiled up at him.

"Well, Amy, I'm not sure what a dream is, but it seems to me like it was a kind of… hmmm… vision, I suppose. Let me know if it happens again," Ratchet stated, without much sympathy.

Wheeljack gave the medical bot an angry glare. "I hope for her sake it doesn't happen again!" Ratchet looked amused, but quickly turned away, back to poor Cliffjumper.

"Thanks, "Amelia whispered.

The inventor smiled, true happiness showing clearly on his mouth. "Do you still need to be in stasis?"

The girl laughed gently. "No, I think I'm fine now."

Wheeljack's optics brightened. "Then perhaps I could entice you to go on a tour of the base?"

"I'd be delighted!" Amelia flashed a smile, and stood up.

* * *

**_Yay! A long chapter! And things between Marauder and Starscream... The next chapter should be up sometime this week._**

**_Thanks to Crystine for editing!_**


	9. Hidden Talent

_**Chapter Nine**_

Marauder shot up. "Oh Primus, I was in stasis too long!" Even though she was full of energy, she also felt drained with worry.

A knock on the door startled the femme, and she whipped around. The door _hissed_ open, and-seeing who it was-Marauder's faceplate brightened. "Starscream…"

The red-and-white mech smiled gently, stepping closer, and pulling her into his arms. "My love," Starscream whispered savouring the feeling of those words in his mouth. His hands moved up and down Marauder's back, and she leaned against him, concentrating intently on his touch. "Starscream…I need to," she began.

"Shhh…I know, I know." He let go of her, but kept holding her hands. Marauder gasped as the doors slid open, and Varia walked in. She opened her optics wide, taking in the scene before her. "You two… I don't believe it. How could you…?"

Marauder rushed forward, anger overriding her slight fear. "Varia, I am the Decepticon leader, and you will _not_ question my actions, is that clear?"

The blue-and-green femme looked abashed, and nodded.

"Good. Now, leave." Marauder's optics flashed.

The smaller Decepticon scrambled put, resolving never to enter Marauder's quarters again.

Starscream held Marauder, hooking his arms around her shoulders. She leaned her head back onto his shoulder, shutting her optics.

"Marauder, you and I both know our secret will get out eventually." Starscream relaxed as the black-and-silver femme sighed, "I know. We'll have to…do something…but I don't know what." The Seeker gently turned Marauder around, and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her.

"Starscream…" Marauder's voice was dangerously low, and he looked confused. "Starscream, I have to go check on the prisoner."

The Seeker nodded, held her briefly, then let go. He watched as the Decepticon leader swept out the door. Once she was gone, he set off for the Command Center.

Marauder headed down the long hall to the shuttle port. Shuttle 56 was sitting right where it had landed.

"Slave! Get out here!" Marauder watched as Mirage came down the ramp, and stopped stiffly in front of her. "How did you fare at Autobot Headquarters?"

The Autobot's face remained devoid of emotion. "I was not intercepted."

Marauder grinned devilishly, utterly pleased. "Good. I want you to go back there. Listen in as much as you can, and report to me at the end of each orn. Am I clear?" Her optics flashed dangerously.

Mirage nodded, optics blank. He turned, and walked over to the specified shuttle. He boarded, and the ship flew off, towards the unsuspecting Autobots.

* * *

Amelia suppressed her sadness, and put a small smile on her face, just for show. She was worried about what her parents would think, considering that they were only supposed to be gone for about thirty minutes. Taylor was only eight, and as much as Amy trusted the Autobots, her sister needed real human interaction, without the danger of being stepped on. Taylor had friend trouble at her school, since she was still pretty immature for her age, crying a lot. The other kids teased her, and Taylor often ran to her sister during recess, afraid to stay with her class. Amelia always let her little sister sit with her, and would share her dessert. But here Taylor was happy. She'd already made lots of friends, according to Wheeljack, and seemed very happy here amongst giant mechs. Amelia was happy too, but she couldn't hide the nagging sensation that she and her sister needed to go home. They couldn't stay here for much longer, despite all the conflicting feelings that wrestled around in her stomach. The logical side of Amy's brain told her to tell the Autobots that she and Taylor needed to go home, while the other, unclassifiable side told her to stay.

And there was always the matter of her nightmares. The terrible Decepticon leader that had appeared in Amelia's dreams…she didn't want herself or Taylor to be here if she came. She didn't want to risk her sister's life for the feelings she had.

The rec room doors slid open, and Amelia giggled at the sight before her. Inferno was fixing the bar, with a very smug-looking Grapple watching over him. The red bot was grumbling under his breath.

The room was almost finished, actually. But Amelia and Wheeljack wondered how much work Sunstreaker had really done before the shift ended. From what she'd heard, he was the kind of mech that would either not do much work, or find a way out of the work. She guessed the first one.

Several mechs were in the room, and Amelia found she didn't know any of them, except for Hound. He waved the two over, and the girl frantically grabbed Wheeljack's hand when he moved. She wasn't quick enough, though, and tumbled off. The white-and-green mech caught her, and winked playfully. Amy's mouth fell open, as she realized he'd done that on purpose. She pretended to pout, sticking out her lower lip and crossing her arms.

Wheeljack called to Inferno, "Enjoying yourself, Inferno?" He chuckled softly.

But Inferno wasn't in a very good mood. He jumped up, and knocked Amelia out of Wheeljack's hands. She went flying through the air, but the recently-arrived Bluestreak caught her. She looked up in time to see Inferno slam the inventor into the wall. The wall was dented with the force of the hit.

Amelia felt a deep anger rise up inside her. She effortlessly jumped down from Bluestreak's hands, despite the distance. Her eyes started to glow a bright blue, the same as their optics, and her hands glowed a brilliant white. Tendrils of energy came from her, and her dark hair swirled around her. She glared at Inferno, who had relented in his attack to stare at the little human girl.

Amelia raised her hands, and the tendrils of energy formed into a large, glowing ball. She thrust her hands forward, at the red bot, and the ball flew into him. Inferno was knocked back against the half-repaired bar, off-line.

The girl suddenly felt all the energy drain from her, and she collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

* * *

**_Finally! The long-awaited chapter nine! And some fluff! We love fluff!_**

**_R&R, please!_**


	10. The Attack

_**Chapter Ten**_

Amelia opened her eyes, hesitating to do so. She had a feeling that _something_ had happened, but she couldn't get her sleepy mind to wrap around it. She blinked at the harsh lights of the medbay, realizing where she was.

She turned onto her side, and saw Ratchet, bent over somebody she couldn't really see. Amy turned to her other side, and saw Cliffjumper, awake, and fully repaired, as far as she could see. She resisted the urge to call softly to him, and turned back to Ratchet.

Ratchet turned to the side, reaching for another tool. His face was screwed up in concentration, and he looked pretty grim. He was muttering something quietly, like a mantra.

Amelia said softly, "Ratchet? What's going on?" Her words shocked the medic out of his thoughts, and he whipped around, startling the girl.

When he turned, Amelia found she could see the mech on the medical table: Wheeljack. She felt a lump form in her throat as she remembered what had happened. With amazing agility, she jumped clear from her bed to his. "Wheeljack! Are you alright?" she cried, swallowing the knot in her throat.

Wheeljack chuckled weakly. "I'd ask the same of you," he said.

Amelia hugged him as best as she could, considering her size. "I…I guess I just got angry…" she said, turning her head to Ratchet. Amy let go of Wheeljack, but still stood close.

Ratchet just stood there, dumbfounded. "You-you…" He paused, supposedly to collect his thoughts. "No human could jump that distance; even a glowing one." He shot Amelia a searching look.

"G-glowing? I was glowing?" she asked softly, gaining a faraway look in her eyes.

Wheeljack gave her a confused look. "Yes, you were…don't you remember?" He exchanged looks with Ratchet, who said, "You don't remember _any_ of what happened, Amelia?"

The girl frowned, and said, "No-I don't. I remember a lot of anger, but…nothing else until now." She paused, then flinched sharply. "No, wait…the anger gathered into energy, and… And I launched it at Inferno. Then I…blacked out," she finished, blinking in confusion.

Wheeljack yelped in pain, and Ratchet put a hand on his arm to hold him down. He'd started working on his shoulder. "Your shoulders are bad, Wheeljack. Inferno really did some damage," said Ratchet grimly.

Amelia glared at him, and placed a gentle hand on the inventor's shoulder. Blue tendrils of energy jumped from her fingertips, running over his shoulders, instantly healing them. The girl looked at her hands, amazed. The three watched in awe as some leftover energy dashed down Wheeljack's body, healing all the other minor injuries.

In a matter of minutes, he was completely repaired.

Wheeljack sat up, examining himself. Ratchet did the same, albeit with a more critical optic. "By Primus…I don't believe it," he murmured.

Amelia shrugged happily. "And this time I don't even feel tired," she said brightly. She was pleased by her powers, feeling quite equal to the mechs, and suddenly wanted to try out her powers on Decepticons.

When she voiced this idea, Ratchet's face turned very dark. "Absolutely not. Out of the question." He frowned even deeper, if that was possible, when she said, "You don't want me to get mad, do you?"

Of course, Amy had no intention of hurting him, but the threat still worked: "You'll have to ask Optimus, then, if you won't take my word."

Wheeljack touched her arm, optics warning the girl not to take it too far. She nodded, almost imperceptibly, and was silent. "Hey Wheeljack? Do you mind taking me to Optimus?" she asked in a sweet voice, and giving him her angel eyes.

No human could resist her angel eyes, and even the inventor had a hard time, but he managed. Before he could answer, an alarm went off.

Amelia choked back a scream, and, seeing her fear, Wheeljack cupped his hand protectively around her. The girl cuddled up to him in fear. She grabbed her sister, holding her tightly. Taylor buried her head into her sister's side, crying softly. Amelia stroked her hair, avoiding the little girl's gaze.

"W-what's going on?" she asked, looking around with dangerously glowing blue eyes.

Wheeljack tried to calm her down, but to no avail. "Amy, it's alright. Don't worry." He sat up, lifting Amelia and Taylor to his chest as he did. Ratchet was hurriedly putting away his medical tools, and Cliffjumper, who'd been watching the entire scenario, jumped up, and pulled out one of his signature big guns.

Amy suspiciously eyed his gun, but he winked at her, his earlier feelings gone. She was reassured by that, and began gathering her senses.

She looked around, and the red alarm on the ceiling was flashing angrily, pulsing a loud warning tone. She wanted it to stop, but knew that wouldn't be the best idea. She could see Ratchet angrily working on the doors, but they were locked in the emergency.

Armed with a sudden inspiration, Amelia had Wheeljack put her down, threatening to jump if he didn't. She walked in front of Ratchet, and, gathering the burning adrenaline inside of her, she let loose a wave of energy. It passed harmlessly over the Autobots, but the doors shattered.

She dashed outside, and followed her intuition. The girl ran left, right, avoiding the mechs that ran hither and thither. Her immediate thought was to go to the control room, where Optimus had shown her Teletraan I. She could hear Wheeljack, Ratchet, and Cliffjumper calling for her, but she dejectedly blocked them out, needing all her concentration to gather the energy.

Amelia unleashed another wave when she reached the doors, and they too shattered. Inside, all was quiet. No alarms were going off, and that sounded alarm bells in her head. A dark shadow loomed over her, and she instinctively ran to the right. A giant, gleaming silver-and-black femme stood there. The look on her face was pure evil, even radiating it in her glowing red optics.

Out of nowhere, Optimus Prime jumped her. The two fell to the ground, and Amelia was stunned by the ferocity with which the femme attacked, using everything from her blaster to her head to batter the Autobot leader.

Amelia knew with a terrible certainty this was Marauder. The very femme that had haunted her dreams not so long ago.

The energy she had so carefully gathered started slipping away, and Amy ran away, hiding behind one of the large chairs. She could hear the sounds of the battle raging behind her, and tried to ignore them, building and building her anger, thinking of the exact moment when she'd gotten angry at Inferno.

But it wasn't enough.

Amelia realized the anger she had felt there wasn't being counteracted by fear, like it was now. She peeked out, and saw, to her horror, Marauder had the advantage. She was holding a terrible, shining silver blade to Optimus's throat.

"Let's see how much Energon the great and powerful Optimus Prime has," she hissed gleefully. The blade drew closer, steadily so.

Amelia felt the power building up, felt it consuming every fiber of her being. She allowed it to take over her thoughts, actions, and emotions. Her hair whipped around her, and her hands glowed a brilliant white, just as before.

The girl stepped out, and as the blade pressed into Optimus's throat, and a trickle of some glowing Energon came out, the glow started running up her arms. The glow spread, until Amelia was enveloped in a ball of bright light.

The glowing energy continued outward, and barely visible inside was a small figure, glowing brighter than all the rest. Amelia raised her hands above her head, and formed an orb of the energy. She flung it at Marauder, and the femme was thrown back against the wall.

She glared fiercely at Amelia, and stood up. She kicked Optimus harshly out of the way, and the glow surrounding the girl flashed out in her anger. Marauder fought against the force, and managed to keep her feet on the ground.

Amelia threw discs of energy at her, finally sending her flying back into the wall, knocking her unconscious.

The glow receded, and Amelia fought to not collapse to her knees. She staggered over to Optimus, and scrambled up onto his chest.

She wasn't done yet.

She pressed her fingertips lightly to the wound in his neck, and channeled energy out, finding how sluggishly is came now: she was tired. But Amy refused to give up, and pushed the energy until Optimus was completely healed.

The girl stumbled off, and fell to the ground. She lifted herself up feebly, and reached out with her mind. The tendrils of energy flowed out, seeking Wheeljack.

The inventor heard a weak voice say, "H-help…me…" and then fade. He somehow knew instantly who it was, and where it had come from. Without saying a word, he rushed to the control room.

Amelia weakly lifted her head at the sound of footsteps. She saw a face in her restricted line of vision, and said quietly, "Wheeljack…you…heard me…" She fought to stay conscious, barely awake. He picked her up gently, holding Amy to his chest, right where his spark was.

The tired girl snuggled up to him, and fell asleep.

* * *

**_I'm on a roll! Guess I just needed to get back into the swing of this story! R&R!_**


	11. Downhill

_**Chapter Eleven**_

When Amelia came to, she found that she wasn't exactly where she'd expected to be: rather than lying on a medical table like last time, she was lying on her 'bed.' She sat up, looking around for any sign of life, either mech or human.

But nobody was around. Taylor wasn't even in her usual spot. Shaking her head, Amy tried to gather up her energy to get off the table. She failed, and tried once more.

Still nothing.

Worried now, she tried a third time, reaching into the depths of herself. The energy came sluggishly, as though it too was tired. She allowed it to expand into her body, and slipped easily off the high table. The energy receded as soon as her feet touched the ground. Amelia forced herself to ignore that fact, and made her way out of the newly repaired medbay doors. Subconsciously she went to the rec room, figuring it to be the most likely place to find a mech.

Sure enough, it seemed like most of the base's population had congregated in the rec room. Even Taylor was there, perched on Jazz's shoulder and looking very comfortable. There was the sound of general chatter, some of it Cybertronian and some in English.

Amelia blinked. She could hear words that had never been recognizable before.

"And you think that's a good idea?" Ratchet was saying. "She shouldn't be out there, risking her life like that-"

But Wheeljack interrupted him. "No, no, no. Ratch', I wasn't saying she should be on the battlefield!" he protested, vocal signifiers flashing blue. "I'm saying that you should train her as a medic. You _saw_ what she did the other day."

The words were definitely not English, she was sure of that. They had a strange, metallic edge to them that the Autobots' English most certainly did not. Amy was forced to come to the conclusion that it was _Cybertronian_.

"Yes, of course I saw it," growled the medic. "But-"

"Can I have a say?" she asked, coming up beside them. She spoke in English, but tried to show that she'd understood them.

Wheeljack's expression was only one of amusement, while Ratchet was looking all but thunderous. "You…_understood_ us?"

Amelia nodded innocently, giving the medicalbot half-angel eyes. "Yes," she replied sweetly.

"How'd you understand Cybertronian?" asked the inventor curiously, scooping her up and setting her down on the table.

She shrugged. "I don't know," she replied thoughtfully. "I just…do."

"It could be a side effect of your powers," mused Wheeljack, showing signs of disappearing into his own thoughts.

Amelia looked thoughtful. "I wonder if I can speak it too…"

Ratchet huffed. "You just _did_, Amelia."

"Really?" she said, pleased. "Cool."

The medicalbot didn't look nearly as happy. "Definitely _not_ 'cool,' as you put it."

Amy rolled her eyes. "You're just sore because you can't talk without me understanding you." And she stuck out her tongue.

"Amy!" Taylor cried happily from her lofty position on Jazz's shoulder. The saboteur put the little girl down on the table, where she promptly ran into her older sister's arms.

Amelia laughed, ruffling Taylor's hair. "What's up?"

She grinned mischievously. "Nothing."

"Really?" Amy winked at the little girl. "Are you sure?"

Taylor nodded. "Completely."

"Big word for a little girl," remarked Sunstreaker, who, out of sheer curiosity, had wandered over, Sideswipe close behind.

Taylor imitated her elder sister, sticking her tongue out. "Big word for a little girl," she trilled, mocking the Lamborghini.

"Why you…" he growled, narrowing his optics.

She snickered behind her hand. "Why you," she said, still in her high, mocking voice.

"Stop that!"

"Stop that!"

"I mean it!"

"I mean it!"

By now the spectacle had drawn several more Autobots over, all of who were curious about how the little eight-year-old girl was besting the most fearsome and temperamental mech out of the Autobot army.

"I'm warning you…"

Taylor winked. "I'm warning you."

Sunstreaker clenched his fists, and turned away. She imitated him, clenching her fists and turning away.

They stayed like that for a while, until finally the yellow warrior cracked. "Are you going to stop?"

"Maybe," said Taylor, struggling to keep a straight face. "Maybe not."

Sunstreaker grinned almost maliciously. "You stopped then."

"You stopped then," repeated Taylor, looking at him as innocently as she could.

He threw his hands up in the air, and stalked out. Sideswipe grinned, high-fived Taylor, and then followed, most likely to make sure his brother didn't cause any _permanent_ damage.

She laughed, succumbing to what had wanted to take hold before. Amelia rolled her eyes. "Nice one, sis. Get the one with the bad temper angry."

"Well, it's not hard, is it?" said Taylor, giggling.

"I guess not," she admitted, resisting the urge to roll her eyes again. Her little sister was still giggling. "You thought that was really funny, huh?"

Taylor nodded. "Yep," she said brightly.

Amelia nearly smacked her own forehead. "Sometimes I question my sanity."

"Why yours?"

"Because I obviously am insane to be thinking that looked fun," she grumbled, rubbing her head—she could feel a headache coming on. Strange, because she rarely got headaches. "I'm gonna go lie down, ok? Don't go off by yourself."

Taylor pretended to pout. "Aw. You ruined my plan." She giggled, and Amelia imagined that her eyes glowed blue. Shaking her head, she made her way back to the medbay, pausing only to wave before she left.

Laying down in her 'bed,' Amelia couldn't help but stay awake: her mind was too active. _Why couldn't I get my power earlier? Why did I think Taylor's eyes glowed blue?_ She kept thinking and thinking, more questions coming to her head as she lay there.

When Wheeljack came in about an hour later to check on her, she was fast asleep, muttering, "It's her. She's the one. I know it."

He paused in the doorway, listening.

"It's hers to take. _Hers_. Nobody else's." Amy's eyes flew open, glowing bright blue, but she was still asleep. "Don't!" she cried, lashing out viciously at an unseen foe. "It's not yours!"

Wheeljack rushed forward to help, but the teen had already slumped back onto the 'bed,' breathing evenly and deeply. She frowned in her sleep, mouth twitching with unsaid words. "Haunted…" she murmured, turning onto her side. "All the time. You did it."

He contemplated waking her, but then decided against it. After all, it was just a dream.

Later that day, Amelia was back on her feet, forcibly ignoring her throbbing headache. Taylor had somehow acquired a sketchpad, and was drawing to her heart's content—Amy figured the sketchpad had come from Sunstreaker, but the warrior denied any involvement.

Peering at her sister's sketches, Amelia was surprised to see not the usual disfigured scribbling of an eight-year-old, but strange shapes and patterns, which, when looked at in a certain way, arranged into something so immensely complex that the human eye could barely focus on it.

Feeling strangely worried—she blamed it on the headache—Amelia went and asked the nearest Autobot, Jazz, if the patterns made any sense to him. She did so quietly, not wanting to disturb her sister's artistic streak.

"Dunno," Jazz answered quietly. "Never seen anything like it. Ask Sunny, it's his thing." He shrugged, looking apologetic, and then went to find the aforementioned yellow Lamborghini.

Sunstreaker didn't look at all happy to be looking at the girl's drawings over her shoulder. All the same, he studied the drawing for a good ten minutes, with Amelia waiting somewhat impatiently.

Eventually he stopped looking, a troubled look clouding his face. "She shouldn't be able to draw that," he said quietly. "It's an old Cybertronian art form. The technique was…well, nobody knows how to _do_ that anymore." He sounded awed. "It used to be for secret messages, codes, that kind of thing."

"Wow," said Amelia quietly, sneaking a glance at her happily oblivious sister. "She's using an old Cybertronian art form that absolutely nobody knows how to do anymore?"

Sunstreaker nodded, following her gaze. "And the really weird thing is that you're not supposed to be able to do it with less than…" He paused, thinking. "…less than sixteen hundred different mediums."

"She's doing it with one," murmured Amy, shaking her head in disbelief. "Were the mediums for color?"

"No," he replied hesitantly, frowning. "The sixteen hundred were for the basics. Color was…somewhere around fifty-nine _thousand_."

She blinked, staggered by the sheer size. "No wonder it was lost."

He snorted. "Yeah."

Silence took over, as both watched the eight-year-old working on her Cybertronian masterpiece.

"What…what happened to the old pieces?" asked Amelia eventually, tucking her hair behind her ears.

Sunstreaker's mouth twisted up into a sort of half-grimace. "Destroyed. Something about them putting Cybertronians into trances."

At his words Amy looked sharply back at her sister, who was still drawing away happily. "You don't think…?"

"I hope not." And Amelia knew something was wrong, because his voice was colored heavily with worry.

* * *

**_I feel bad for leaving everyone hanging for so long... I'd like to give out HUGE excuses that make up for the gap, but, unfortunately, I don't have any like that. I can say that I had a busy summer (which is true), but it doesn't make up for it. So I'm saying I'M SORRY and hoping that people haven't completely give up hope on me!! And I can officially say that this story is not on hiatus anymore (YAY!), and I'll be shooting for an update a week--but look for updates on the weekends, usually. Also, this is drawing to the end, but there'll be a sequel...maybe I'll make it into a trilogy, but I'm not sure. It depends on how much I get done in this story before the end. Because, as per usual, I really have no idea where I'm going._**

**_Again, I'm EXTREMELY sorry for the long delay--and for my ramblings. R&R pweeze!!_**

**_-Allie_**


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